My Out on A Swim blog is rated in the Top 20 Coral Reef Blogs in the world.
It serves as a record of what has caught my eye when ‘out on a swim’ in the lagoons of Norfolk Island, as well as providing some short stories about the characters under the waves.
Montipora corals, Norfolk Island
Gorgeous, boring brown, Montipora corals! These beautiful coral colonies (and remember, these consist of loads of tiny little animals, which work together to create these amazing shapes) are one of our key reef-building corals. There are around 85 known species belonging to the Montipora genus.
Read MoreOne of the first corals to catch my eye when I set out with my new camera in January 2020 was this stunning boulder coral that sits off the Salt House in Emily Bay. Regular swimmers would all be aware of its presence, but not many would realise that it is quite possibly an as-yet undescribed species of coral, which for the moment is known as Lobophyllia recta sensu Veron.
Read MoreA juvenile Hawksbill sea turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, inside Emily Bay lagoon, Norfolk Island, listed as critically endangered, according to the IUCN Red List, and vulnerable under the EPBC Act
Today's National Threatened Species Day post discusses the conundrum of Australia's threatened species list and the IUCN Red List as they relate to vulnerable and threatened species here on Norfolk Island in the Marine Park. How, for example, do we offer protections to something that hasn't been formally identified yet, let alone listed as threatened?
Read MoreThe Emily Bay’s massive ‘brain’ coral, Paragoniastrea australensis, photographed on 6 July 2024
This massive and incredibly slow-growing Paragoniastrea australensis sits in Emily Bay on Norfolk Island and is one of our most recognisable bommies. While all looks reasonably calm during the day, at night, while you are sleeping, the surface of the coral colony seethes with millions of tiny tentacles busily reaching out to find food, while others aggressively ward off opportunistic interlopers.
Read MoreThe view across Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay’s contiguous reef at low tide. Quintal’s Passage can be seen as two parrallel lines of rocks. It runs from Emily out to sea.
We have shaped Kingston, Norfolk Island, to suit our own ends, whether it is by draining the swamp, undertaking major earthworks, or by using it for agriculture and grazing. Our interventions have placed the reef at risk. But simultaneously, the confluence of human activity and a unique natural environment have created a place of incredible significance, which deserves some special management to preserve all its facets.
Read MoreIs this Atramentous Necrosis? This January, examples of this disease are popping up across Emily Bay on Norfolk Island
This month, I have increasingly noticed a disease that is presenting differently to the white syndrome that we have sadly become used to seeing. With this disease the coral goes grey-ish black and sometimes looks like it is almost dissolving or melting away. The result is a tragedy for the coral. I talk to coral health researcher Associate Professor Tracy Ainsworth about what is going on.
Read MoreNorfolk Island’s inshore reef during low tide and at sunrise
Sadly, the year didn’t bring any obvious improvements to Norfolk Island's reef in terms of reductions in incidences of coral disease, or runaway algal growth. And while some fish seem to have departed the scene, another species has re-established its home. Here’s a rundown of what I've been doing during the last four years of observations, and what I've seen happening on our reef in 2023.
Read MoreAcropora coral, Norfolk Island, 14_StairwayReef, 14 November 2021
For two years, I have stopped by and photographed this beautiful Acropora coral formation in Emily Bay on Norfolk Island. In my database for this colony, I called the folder 14_StairwayReef; 14 for the geographic location on a map, followed by my romantic name for it. Today it is just so much rubble.
Read MoreWhite syndrome on a Hynophora pilosa colony, Norfolk Island, 23 November 2023
A pictorial study of the spread of white syndrome, over time, in a Hynophora pilosa colony on Norfolk Island. This beautiful coral colony is in the middle of the channel that runs between the contiguous Emily and Slaughter Bays, in Norfolk Island’s inshore coral reef lagoon. It’s one of my favourite places to pause and admire the scenery, when I’m out on my swim.
Read MoreAcropora corals, Norfolk Island’s reef
Norfolk Island’s reef is one of Australia’s most southerly. It isn’t showy like the Great Barrier Reef, and I often hear the comment that it is a little dowdy – boring and brown. I’m here to tell you that it is anything but.
For this little photo essay I randomly selected just a handful of my many ‘boring, brown’ coral images to demonstrate my point. I barely scratched the surface of my photo library, yet I think you will agree, the diversity is just amazing!
Read MoreEmily Bay, full moon rising, by Norfolk Island photographer Joelene Oliver
With the low, low tides associated with a full moon, the bays on Norfolk Island are like a huge, calm swimming pool, giving us some great snorkelling opportunities. These low tides should also let us view the causeway, which will no doubt be exposed too. This post explores these opportunities as well as what the low tides mean for corals. Read more in this fact packed blog post.
Read MoreA small school of scissortail sergeants with one interloper, an Indo-Pacific sergeant, Norfolk Island
There are a few fish species in Norfolk Island’s bays that are easily mixed up. Here’s four commonly confused pairs, with a few pointers to help you identify them.
Read MoreCrustose coralline algae, Norfolk Island
Animal, vegetable or mineral? What are crustose coralline algae? Are they important? What role do they play on our coral reefs?
There’s a lot to learn about coralline algae. For a humble lifeform, they really pack a punch.
Read MoreA sea mat on the edge of the reef where the waves break, Norfolk Island
My March focus on Norfolk Island’s reef could almost go on for a full year, there’s so much to write about. But time dictates, so I will confine my efforts to one concentrated effort of randomness! Randomness, because there has been no plan to my posts. They have evolved as the month has progressed. Today I highlight two very different corals commonly seen, but not necessarily common.
Read MoreBubbles of oxygen forming on algae, photobombed by a tiny sea slug, sp, Elysia
March is often the warmest month on Norfolk Island’s reef, so it's no surprise that the algae are very busily photosynthesising and flourishing. Yesterday, I noticed that the algae had created a thick carpet of bubbles. As I swam my face was gently brushed by thousands of tingling bubbles, fizzing to the surface. It was quite a sight. And a rather weird sensation. So what is going on here?
Read MoreStunning Emily Bay, Norfolk Island.
In the 1960s we had reports voicing concerns around water quality, but nothing was done. When the Commonwealth of Australia’s EPBC Act came into force in 1999, nothing was done. Surely it is high time the issues of failing and inadequate infrastructure, deficient Norfolk Island laws and unsatisfactory protections were fixed once and for all?
Read MoreAcropora coral overgrown with algae, Norfolk Island
Today’s post for the March focus on Norfolk Island’s reef is a letter. Just that, and nothing more. The authors of this letter have very generously given me permission to reproduce it here. In it, Dr Kellie Pendoley and Dr Martin Goldsmith warn us about the future of Emily Bay. Written nearly eight years ago they give the coral reef habitat five to ten years before it is gone as we know it.
Read MoreThreadfin butterflyfish, Chaetodon auriga, Norfolk Island
Butterflyfish are flighty, brightly coloured and beautifully conspicuous on our coral reef in their bright yellows and oranges, white and black livery. On Norfolk Island we regularly see fourteen species, just a small portion of the more than 100 species, globally. Large numbers of butterflyfish are a good sign of a healthy reef.
Read MoreLow tide at Cemetery Bay, Norfolk Island
No focus on Norfolk Island’s reef would be complete without a look at Cemetery Bay. It’s worth strolling along this beautiful beach at low tide. It is the island’s dog beach, so you will see plenty of locals out walking here, but better still is what you can see in the water – healthy corals happily growing right up to the beach.
Read MoreJust some of our beautiful corals on Norfolk Island
People say that Norfolk Island’s reef is rather boring and brown when compared to the Great Barrier Reef. While it may not be as colourful, I think you have to agree that it is anything but boring brown!
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